Why has the government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.

No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed or outlawed or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor will we send against him except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.

I say violence is necessary. It is as American as cherry pie.

There is no method by which men can be both free and equal.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

The Revolution is made by man, but man must forge his revolutionary spirit from day to day.

The vice presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm piss.

I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli!

The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull.

The more corrupt the republic, the more numerous the laws.

There is nothing more tyrannical than a strong popular feeling among a democratic people.

Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.

I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof I sleep.